Collect, manage, insert, and create
Benefits of a reference management software
What this module contains

Collect, manage, insert, and create

Reference management software can be used to collect and manage your references, insert citations and create a bibliography. It is thus a useful tool when writing your thesis. The effort needed to get familiar with the software will be well worth it in the long run.

There is a variety of reference management software available on the market. Gothenburg university libraries provide training and support for EndNote and Zotero. Both systems offer the following support, which will be explained in more detail in this module.

A reference management software helps you collect your sources in one place during your writing process, in a Library. Within the library you can organize your sources as you see fit.
A reference management software is compatible with your word processor. As you start writing your document, you can insert a citation in the text with a few simple moves, regardless of which reference style you are using.
Simultaneously, a reference list is generated at the end of your document.

Benefits of a reference management software

What this module contains

For instructions on how to Get started with Endnote or Get started with Zotero, we refer you to the recurring University library demonstrations. In the mean time, a hands-on User-guide-Endnote or User-guide-Zotero can get you acquainted. The basic functionality within the two reference management softwares, including how to apply them to your writing in your word processor, are quite similar.

However, the information found in these pages, may provide you with a first impression of a reference software in order to make a choice between the two types, for which UL provide support.

Also, downloading records from databases to build your library vary between Endnote and Zotero. These varying principles are accounted for.

Finally, there are numerous practicalities in a reference software, which we hope you will discover in your working process. But here, we have attempted to highlight a couple of features, which might distinguish one reference management software from the other.

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